THE COMMODITIZATION OF DOCTORS

During my 30 years in medicine, I have come to realize, among other things, people want the opportunity to converse WITH doctors. Despite the never-ending “transformation” of healthcare in America, doctors still hold a position of high esteem and trustworthiness in our society. 

If you doubt this, take out your pill box or that of a friend or loved one, count the pills and ask the owner to articulate the indications, intended response, and side effects of their medications. Few could answer the question with an acceptable level of understanding. Why? Because they trust the prescriber, the doctor, to act in their best interest. What’s this pill? Why do you take it? What are the potential side effects? The oft’ unfettered response will be: “because the doctor gave it to me.”

Stereotyped as dispassionate, stale and frankly arrogant, we are collectively considered “mysterious” and elusive from our patients.  Personally, I have worked hard to break down this barrier and reveal my human side to all my patients, family, friends and professional network. That willingness to be vulnerable, to be human to reach out continues to reward me personal and professional satisfaction that transcends the practice of medicine and surgery.  

I’m particularly concerned about what I call the “commoditization of doctors.” The implied notion that the professional standards of medical science inflexibly constrains the creativity and art of individual practitioners is playing a role in the exodus of good doctors. We are not interchangeable, pull off the shelf, plug and play algorithmic machines. On the contrary, we are no different than the rest of you. We live, we love, we laugh, we cry, we play and yes, we also get sick. We are not infallible.  

I believe we possess a deep sense of compassion and empathy for people. We fight every day, in our own unique way, to rid diseases of all kind from this world. This ability to engage our patients is what makes us human and no human will ever be a commodity.